US customs denies 15% of tariff refund claims so far

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has denied approximately 15% of import entries reviewed through a new online refund portal established after the Supreme Court overturned a sweeping set of tariffs, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

Refund portal goes live

The agency launched the digital system on April 20 to process repayment requests from thousands of American importers. The claims stem from a February 20 Supreme Court ruling that found President Donald Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act when he imposed tariffs on incoming goods. The overturned tariffs covered roughly $166 billion in imports.

Data errors cause rejections

As of April 26, about 13.3 million import entries had cleared an initial review. Brandon Lord, a CBP executive director, told the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan that 15% of those were denied for failing “entry-specific validations.” Officials said importers can correct mistakes and resubmit claims. Approximately 1.74 million approved entries have entered the refund process. Businesses and individuals paid the disputed tariffs on around 53 million total entries, according to earlier government data.

Lower courts to decide final process

The agency noted that rejections could occur if submitted data was improperly formatted, files were corrupted, or the claimant was not the listed importer or authorized broker. The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision did not specify how refunds should be handled, leaving that question to lower courts.